Method and apparatus for developing and treating sheets of sensitized paper



Sept. 17, 1935. .K. MURCK METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DEVELOPING AND TREATING SHEETS OF SENSITIZED PAPER Filed Sept. 12, 1934 1% 27 w I F O :imql

w IINVENTOR Q Patented Sept. 17, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE METHOD AND APPARATUS Fort DEVELOP- nvo AND TREATING snss'rs F suns!- TIZED rarna Knud Murck', Brooklyn, N. 1,,

assignor to Charles Bruning Compsiny 'Inc., acorporation of New York Application September 12, 1934, Serial No. #35544 Claims. (Cl- 95-94) In the" art of developing printed sensitized sheets of paper by the application of a liquid developer to only the exposed surface of the print and thereafter drying the developed sheet it is a d common experience that the sheet crinkles or curls up while it is being dried either by allowing it to remain quiescent in the air or by applying artificial heat because of the difference in moisture content between the two surfacesof the 39 print. According to this invention this defect is avoided by moistening the back of the print'as soon as it emerges from the developer with water in quantity sumcient to substantially equalize the moisture content of. the developed surface. By so- 13 doing the developed print remains fiat and does not crinkle or curl up while it is being dried by allowing it to remain quiescent in the air or by applying artificial heat. the amount of water applied to the back of the developed print is very little, the print will dry in a comparatively short time, say a minute or so, when allowed to dry by merely exposing it to, room temperature. How

ever, where it is desired to expedite the drying of the prints so that they are dried in a few seconds,

this may be done by exposing the prints to artificial heat immediately after they have been moisclosed as an improvement on'the apparatus dis-.

closed in my ,U. s. Patent No. 1,891,722; December 20-, 1932.- This application is also a continuation-in-part application of my pending application Serial Number 671,939; filed May 20, 1933,,

In the accompanying drawingin diagrammatic outline only, and. with other parts removed or broken away. a

m. 2 a a partial detail viewof the developing 5 and moistening rollers,look ing from the right in Fig. 3 is adetail view of the paper strippin means.

Fig. 4 is a wiring diagram.

- .55 The several parts and mechanisms of the ma- Fi '1' is a transverse sectional 'view of an apparatusembodyingth invention with parts shown chine are supported generally on and between two side frames i0, only one of which is shown. In the front of the machine there is a feed board l2, upon which the operator places the printed sheet ll, with the printed sensitized side upwards ii and then inserts it in the machine by pushlng it against the circular sheet guide l4, which causes the sheet tobe curved upwardly and directs the sheet towards and into contact with the rotating developing roller ii. A series or number of 10s freely rotatable contacting disks lfifrest on the developing roller in frictional driving contact,

and as the sheet II is thus fed towards the roller,

the sheet is seized as'it were "between the roller and the disks and carried into the machine in an ll obvious manner.

', Y The developing roller l 5'dips'into a trough l'l,

which contains a developing solution l8. An inner paper guide or shield, 19, is preferably provided to cooperate with the outer paper guide I4, 20 and to properly guide the paper towardsthe developing roller and prevent premature contact with said roller.'

I The development of the sheet takes place almost instantly, for instance, if the apparatus is'25 used for developing diazo type positive prints, and very little of the developingsolution is required for this purpose. As soon as the paper has contacted with the developing roller and passed underneath the disks l6,it is stripped from the 80 roller by strippers 20. These latter are; preferably in the form-of thin blades of suitable material mounted in pairs on the ends-of connecting rods 2|, see Figure 3. Each stripper blade is cut out to rest on the supporting-rod 22, and mas-78d much as each blade is free to move on the connecting rod 2i, individual contact by gravity is provided for, thus insuring good contact between the point of the strippers and the developing roller. The strippers are mounted in detachable, 40 easilymovable pairs on the rod 22, so that they maybe placed along said rod 'tobest advantage with'respect to the sheet.

After leaving the developing roller, the sheet passes upwards againstpaper guides 24. These guides are also preferably in the form of thin blades suitably shaped and supported on a bar 25." The object of these guides is to guidethe paper during its passage from the developing roller l5 to anothermoistening roller 21. B0

The moistening roller 21 is, like the developing roller, preferably ayhighlypolished metalrolle'r with a chromium 'Slil'f'B-OB for the, sake of hard- -I ness, smoothness and cleanness. The rollerv 21 dips into a trough I}, which contains watch-56 Contacting driving disks 29, similar to the aforesaiddisks l8, cooperate with the moistening roller to move the paper through the machine. The

. paper is stripped from the water moistening roller 5 TI by pairs of strippers 30, which are arranged on ratus may include means for applying artificial heat. Such heat applying means may be in the form of a drying box or the like. In the present instance there is shown a drying mechanism well adapted for the purpose and which may be so-attached, built into and operated from the developing and moistening mechanism to permit of continuous automatic operation if desired.

As shown in the drawing there is secured to the apparatus a suitable support Mlwhich may be in the form of an inverted casing. In the sides of'the latter and also in the frames l0 there are provided to confine and direct the heat and provide for updrafts underneath the casing as will be understood.

The mechanical means for supporting and operating the aforesaid mechanisms are either 40 omitted or shown merely diagrammatically because they form no particular part of this invention. However, means are indicated for driving the movable parts. Thus the developing roller I5 is provided with a gear 4| and from this gear movement is transmitted to the moistening roller 21 and to the shafts 60 by means of gears 42 to 45 inclusive. The shafts 5|] carry gears 63 which are driven by a chain 64 and the fixed gear ill to the right in the drawing, is arranged to re' ceive movement from the gear 45 and also to drive the chain 64 as is obvious. 65 denotes a. table or board for receiving the sheets from the machine. The heating elements, two or more as shown in Figure 4 are preferably controlled by switches 49 from the main wires 50. The entire machine is of course driven by a motor or other means not shown. The contacting disks I5 and 20 are mounted on non-rotatable shafts 52 and 53, Figure 2, arranged'to permit driving contact by gravity between the disks and their respective contacting rollers.

The use of the contacting driving disks l6 and 2! is a feature of the invention. The beneficial results obtainable by means of the disks l6 are referred to in the patent above mentioned. Simi- -'larly, it has been found that in order to control the amount of moisture to be applied to the back of the sheet for the purposes of this invention, the use of such disksis very importantin thatalso in Y applying the water, great care must be exercised that the sheets aremoistened to only a prede-,

termined extent and that no excess moisture is caused to be applied to the edges of the sheet,

such as would be the case were merely ordinary driving wheels or other means employed.

The use of the contacting disks or similar elements are also of importance in moving the sheet through the machine. The developing of diazo type and like prints insheets practically prohibits the use of gripping means applied to the 5 edge of the-sheet for pulling it through the apparatus because such means are apt to leave marks on the print. Hence it is important that the sheet be handled with as few mechanical contacting means as possible'and that such means 1 be arranged to move the sheet automatically through the apparatus.

' short or long. As is usual in such cases the machine will be dimensioned to take care of a certain maximum width of paper, the length being immaterial for all practical purposes. Again it is 25 not without the scope of the invention that the sheets be moistened first and developed thereafter should such a procedure become practical or desirable.

, The machine is widely used for the developing 30 and drying of diaz'o type and similar prints which require'only momentary-application of the develop'ingliquid and likewise, therefore, only momentary application of the moistening mediumto affect or balance, as it were, the moistening 35 efiect of the developer. When the entire opera- ,tion is carried out automatically and includes developing, moistening and drying, a-sheet passes through the machine in a few seconds. The sheets are delivered flat and do not curl up or 40 crinkle.

I claim:-

l. The method of developing and drying a printed sensitized sheet which consists in first subjecting said sheet to the separate action of a 45 developing agent; then moistening the developed sheet on the back thereof and thereafter subjecting the developed and moistened sheet to the influence of heat for a predetermined period, the said method being carried out in one continuous 50 automatic operation.

2. The method of developing and drying printed sensitized sheets so as to-obtain a finished print which will remain inherently fiat, which consists in first developing said printed sheet, then moistening the same on the back thereof and thereafter drying the developed and moistened sheet, the said method being carried out in one continuous automatic operation.

3. The method of drying printed developed sen- 0 sitized sheets so as to obtain a finished inherently flat print which consists in bringing the developed print into contact with a momentarily operating moistening agent immediately after it has been developed and thereafter subjecting the moistened 65 sheet to the influence of heat immediately after the application of said moistening agent, the said moistening and drying steps forming parts of a continuous automatic operation for developing and drying the sensitized'sheets. 70

4. 'I'he'method of developing and drying diazo type positive prints in sheet form which consists in applying a momentarilyoperating developing agent to the printed sides of the print, then moistening the back side of said print with water and 75 tion to cause the evaporation of practically all of the moisture applied to the sheet by the said developing liquid and said water whereby to obtain an inherently fiat print.

6. The combination of a roller for applying developing liquid to the printed side of a sensitized sheet to develop the same, a second roller for applying moisture to the other side of the sheet after it has been developed, means cooperating with the first roller for automatically removing the sheet therefrom into operative relationwith the second roller, means for drying said sheet and means cooperating with the second roller for automatically removing the sheet therefrom into operative relation with the said drying means.

'7. The combination of a roller for applying developing liquid to the printed side of a sensitized sheet to develop the same, a second roller for applying moisture to the other side of the sheet after it has been developed, means actuated by frictional contact with the first roller for, moving the sheet past said roller and into operative relation with the second roller, drying means and means actuated by frictional contact with the second roller for moving the sheet past said second roller into operative relation with the said drying means.

8. Apparatus for developing and drying a sensitized sheet comprising means for applying developing liquid to the printed side of the sheet,

means for applying a moistening liquid to the other side. of the sheet, means for drying said sheet, and means for manipulating the sheet into operative relationwith all of the aforesaid means sequentially in one continuous automatic operation.-

9. Apparatus for developing and drying a sensitized sheet comprising means for applying a developing agent to the surface'of the sheet to be developed, means for thereafter applying moisture to the other side of the sheet, means for removing the sheet from the developing means and convey the sheet to the moisteningmeans, heating means and means for removing the sheet sitized sheet comprising a roller for applying de- 5 veloping liquid to the face of the sheet, a second 1 roller for applying Water to the back of the sheet,

a plurality of freely rotatable elements in frictional driving contact with said rollers for moving the sheet through the apparatus, strippers for 10 removing the sheet from the said rollers and means for thereafter applying heat to at least one I side of the sheet.

11'. The herein described method of treating a printed sensitized paper so as to obtain an in- 15 herently fiat print which consists in applying a developing liquid to the printed side of the paper, applying a substantially equal amount of water to the other side of the paper and causing the evaporation of practically all of the moisture ap- 20 plied to the paper by the said liquid and water.

12. The herein described method of treating a printed sensitized sheet to obtain a finished flat print which consists in applying to the sensitized side of the sheet a liquid developer in quantity 25 sufficient to develop the print thereafter applying to the other side of the'sheet a moistening agent in quantity substantially equal to that of the developing liquid and thereafter causing the sheet to be dried. '30

13. The herein described method of finishing a printed sensitized wet developed sheet so as to obtain an inherently flat finished print which consists in applying to the unsensitized surface of the sheet while it is still wet an amount of 35 water substantially equal to the moisture content of the sheet and thereafter causing the said sheet to be dried;

sheet, means for applying a substantially equal amount of moisture to the other side of the sheet and mechanism for moving the sheet automatically in operative relation with all the aforesaid means and away from the said apparatus.

' KNUD MURCK. 55 

